Rotating tooth brush



1936- A. H. FLOURNOY 3 ROTATING TOOTH BRUSH Filed April 12, 1935Patented Nov. 3, 1936 hairs s'r'iss eArrs-ur orrics 12 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in rotatable brushes adapted foruse in cleaning the teeth by brushing in a vertical direction so thatthe spaces between the teeth may be thoroughly cleaned as well as thesurfaces of the teeth.

An object of my invention is to devise a rotatable tooth brush which maybe operated with one hand and at variable speed.

A further object is to devise a rotatable tooth brush which is of simpleconstruction, is easy to use, and is efficient in operation.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a device of such shape andvarious sizes, to suit the ages of the users, that may be easily placedin the mouthand be operated with one or both hands or with a motorattachment.

Figure 1 is a side-elevation of one form of tooth brush according to myinvention;

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section on the central axis ofFigure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross section through the middle of the cleaning elementand guard on line 33;

Figure 4 is an end elevation of the cleaning element and guard;

Figure 5 is a top view or plan of the guard;

Figure 6 is a cross section of Fig. 1 along line 6-45; and

Figure '7 is a cross section of Fig. 1 along line 'l'l.

Figure 8 shows another form of my invention.

The tooth brush of Figure 1 is made of the following parts: A tubularhandle I; a turning element 2 to be operated by the thumb and indeXfinger and to have the surface of that part adjacent to the handleknurled or otherwise roughened, as by the fluting shown, to facilitateturning with the fingers; a guard 3 to prevent contact of the bristlesof the cleaning element with the gums and the inside of the cheeks; abrush or cleaning element composed of bristles secured in place bytwisted wire or set in a shaft of other material and placed within theguard 3 so as to rotate in the socket bearing :r and the sleeve bearingy formed'in opposite ends of guard 3, the shaft of the cleaning elementbeing rigidly fastened in a socket in the end of turning element 2 byset screw l, or the shaft may be cemented in place; a metal shaft or pin5 passes through the handle 9 and is rigidly fastened in the end ofturning element 2 to rotatably support the turning element from handleI; a set washer or collar 8 is arranged on the shaft of the cleaningelement 4 to hold the guard 3 in its position and to prevent the shaftof the cleaning 5,5 element from disengaging the bearing :11.

In operating the tooth brush, the handle 6 is held in the palm of thehand by the middle, fourth and fifth fingers, the guard 3 and cleaningelement 4 are placed in the mouth with the open side of the guard turnedtowards the teeth, and the turning element 2 is turned between the thumband. the index finger. In order to obtain rapid movement of the brush orcleaning element 4, the turning element 2 is made of a small diameteradjacent the handle 5 or in the region where the thumb and finger engagethe turning element for operating it. I prefer to make the section ofthe turning element immediately adjacent the handle of smaller diameterthan the diameter of handle. I, as shown in the drawing.

The turning element 2 is also provided with a flange 2a near itsmid-section and this flange serves as a guard to-prevent saliva fromflowing along the brush to the hand. This flange may be formed integralwith the turning element as shown, or it may be formed as a separatepiece and secured to the turning element in any suitable manner. Inorder to operate the brush at different speeds, the turning element 2may be made of increasing diameter from the handle H l to the flange 2aas shown in Figures 1. and 2. By operating the element 2 near the flangethe speed of rotation will be low, and increased speed may be obtainedby operating the turning member near the handle I.

In order to allow the lips to be closed around the brush duringoperation, turning element 2 is formed of reduced diameter from theflange 2a to the guard 3.

In Figure 8 I have shown a modified form of my tooth brush adapted foroperation by a motor. Elements in this figure corresponding to elementsin the other figures are indicated by corresponding referencecharacters. In this arrangement, the section of the element 2 foroperation by the fingers has been omitted, and the end of shaft 5 isprovided with a screw threaded socket Set for connection with a flexiblemotordriven shaft, not shown.

As shown in the various figures of the drawing, the edges of the guard 3are enlarged and of rounded section to prevent injury to the gums andflesh surfaces of the mouth. The radially extending flanges formed alongthe sides of the guard 3 prevent the guard from rotating with the brush4 while in use.

The elements I, 2 and 3 may be moulded or otherwise formed in anysuitable manner, and may be constructed of rubber, celluloid, bakeliteor other suitable material.

I have herein described the principle of my invention and illustrated apreferred embodiment thereof. Various modifications will occur to thoseskilled in the art, and I desire it to be understood that allmodifications which fall within the terms of the appended claims are tobe considered as falling within the scope of my invention.

In the appended claims the term spindle is employed to broadly designatethe element or construction for rotatably supporting the brush orcleaning element upon the handle. In the particular constructions shownthis element is formed of members 2, 5 and the shaft of brush 4, but theterm is not to be limited to a construction formed of any particularnumber of elements.

What I claim is:

1. A tooth brush comprising a handle, a shaft journaled in said handlelongitudinally thereof, a turning element secured to said shaft, acleaning element carried by the outer end of said turning element, and aguard surrounding a portion of said cleaning element and rotatablysupported by said turning element, the end of said turning elementadjacent said handle being of smaller diameter than said handle andbeing roughened to facilitate turning by the thumb and finger.

2. A tooth brush comprising a handle, a shaft journaled in said handlelongitudinally thereof, a turning element secured to said shaft, acleaning element carried by the outer end of said turning element, and aguard surrounding a portion of said cleaning element and rotatablysupported by said turning element, said turning element having anincreasing diameter along its length from said handle, whereby varyingspeeds of operation may be obtained.

3. A tooth brush comprising a handle, a shaft journaled in said handlelongitudinally thereof, a turning element secured to said shaft, acleaning element carried by the outer end of said turning element, and aconcentric flange arranged on said turning element intermediate the endsthereof for preventing saliva from flowing from the cleaning element tothe handle.

4. A tooth brush comprising a handle, a shaft journaled in said handlelongitudinally thereof, a turning element secured to said shaft, acleaning element carried by the outer end of said turning element, aconcentric flange arranged on said turning element intermediate the endsthereof for preventing saliva from flowing from the cleaning element tothe handle, said turning element having an increasing diameter from saidhandle to said flange.

5. A tooth brush comprising a handle, a spindle journaled in said handlealong the major axis thereof, a brush element secured to one end of saidspindle, a guard element partly surrounding said brush element and beingjournaled upon said spindle independently of said handle, and meanslocated between said guard element and said handle for rotating saidbrush element by engagement between the thumb and fore-finger of thesame hand that grasps the handle.

6. A tooth brush comprising a handle, a spindle journaled in said handlealong the major axis thereof, a brush element secured to one end of saidspindle, a guard element partly surrounding said brush element and beingjournaled upon said spindle independently of said handle, said guardbeing provided with thickened and rounded flanges along the sidesthereof to prevent r0- tation of the guard with the brush, said spindlebeing provided with a turning section between said brush and said handlefor rotation by engagement of the thumb and. fore-finger of the samehand that grasps the handle.

7. A tooth brush comprising a handle, a spindle rotatably journaled insaid handle along the major axis thereof, a cleaning element carried bythe outer end of said spindle, a guard rotatably mounted upon saidspindle and partly surrounding said cleaning element, said spindle beingprovided with a turning section between said cleaning element and saidhandle for rotation by engagement of the thumb and finger of the samehand that grasps the handle.

8. A tooth brush comprising a handle, a spindle rotatably journaled insaid handle, a cleaning element carried by the outer end of saidspindle, a guard rotatably mounted upon said spindle and partlysurrounding said cleaning element, said spindle being provided with aturning section between said cleaning element and said handle forrotation by engagement of the thumb and finger, and a circular flangemounted on said spindle to prevent saliva from flowing from saidcleaning element to said turning section.

9. A tooth brush comprising a handle, a spindle rotatably journaled insaid handle, a cleaning element carried by the outer end of saidspindle, a guard element rotatably mounted upon said spindle and partlysurrounding said cleaning element, said spindle being provided with aturning section between said cleaning element and said handle forrotation by engagement of the thumb and finger, said turning sectionhaving a diameter which increases along its length from said handletoward said cleaning element, whereby varying speeds of operation may beobtained.

10. A tooth brush comprising a handle, a spindle rotatably journaled insaid handle, a clean ing element carried by the outer end of saidspindle, a guard element partly surrounding said cleaning element andbeing journaled upon said spindle for free rotation about said cleaningelement, a circular guard carried by said spindle between said cleaningelement and said handle, the section of said spindle lying between saidhandle and said circular guard being formed as a turning section havinga diameter which increases from said handle towards said circular guardand having a roughened surface to facilitate turning of the spindle bythe thumb and finger.

11. A tooth brush comprising a tubular handle, a spindle rotatablyjournaled in said handle along the major axis thereof, a rotary brushhaving a stub shaft removably secured in a bore in the end of saidspindle, a guard partly surrounding said brush and being journaled onsaid stub shaft at each end of said guard, and a stop element on saidstub shaft to prevent accidental withdrawal of said shaft from thebearing in the guard.

12. In combination, a rotary brush having a shaft, a guard partlysurrounding said brush and being journaled at one end directly on saidshaft, one end of said shaft being journaled in a socket formed in saidguard at the other end thereof, and a stop element on said shaftcooperating with said guard to prevent dislodgment of the end of saidshaft from said socket.

ADDISON H. FLOURNOY.

